About A Girl
by allyjayrunaway
Summary: Jack still has doubts about his Guardian status, but that all changes when he and Sandy embark upon the most difficult quest of their lives: getting five year old Madelyn Zahn to believe in them. But the question remains: why her? Why them? Getting to the answers requires a whole lotta faith. Slightly Jack/Sandy...slightly.
1. Intro

A/N Hey everyone :) this is my first Guardians fic, so be nice. This was a Christmas present to my best friend Leo'sluvr777, but I got a little side tracked. Anyways, I hope you like it and like review or something. You ain't got nothing better to do... Oh and this should be about 20 chapters or so. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, back to the farm...

Jack was having a bad day. Actually, it would probably be safe to say that Jack was having a TERRIBLE day. It began with a 'harmless' prank from Bunny, to which he awoke with one of North's elves bouncing on his chest and two more rearranging the furniture in his room. He'd had to freeze all three of them just to get the jingling in his head to stop. But it was just a thin layer of frost, nothing dangerous, per se... But that was just the beginning: He had accidentally frozen Tooth's breakfast when he'd tripped over Sandy, who had fallen asleep sprawled on the hallway floor; he had, of course, spluttered light an idiot while trying to reprimand Bunny; and best of all, he had a new mission to complete. It would have been fine if it had been one of the same kind of missions that Manny had been sending him on recently: snow days for children in Arizona, turning the Central Park Lake into an ice skating rink, basic stuff to get the belief ratings higher. But this? This was something way out of his league... also, so deceptively simple that Jack couldn't help but wonder if it was a test. Ever since he'd been inducted into the Secret Society of Holliday Protectors, as he liked to call it, he'd been doubting Manny's decision. Sure, his confidence began to boost when they'd defeated Pitch and a select group of children had started believing in him, but he could never quite blot out that sneaking suspicion that he was the wrong man for the job, no matter what Manny said. To make things worse, he was supposed to go with Sandy, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it would just make things...more compicated for him.

When he had tried to save Sandy from Pitch and his nightmare sand, something happened that the others didn't fully understand. There was so much energy coursing through him at that moment, his own combined with both Sandy's dream magic and Pitch's evil, that his heart had momentarily stopped beating, at which point he became unconscious and plummeted to his near-death. He had almost died from two different causes in one instant, all in the name of saving Sandy. He seemed to be the only one who knew this aside, regretfully, from Sandy himself. This, out of definition, created yet another bond between the two guardians, one that Jack preferred not exist. He already had enough difficulty maintaining composure around the small man anyway. The point is, Jack was not feeling it when he trailed Sandy across the street and into the small Minnesotan neighborhood that would change his life forever.


	2. The Door

Going through North's time portals always gave Jack a pounding headache, and this time was no different. If anything, it may have actually been worse than usual. Adding to that the chill fog of mid morning in Minnesota and the smug look on Sandy's face, Frost was in a foul mood. And to make it even worse, they had to go find some five year old, like it was going to make any difference to anyone; one child can't change anything. Except they can.

He knew especially well that one child could be the difference between hope and desolation, the difference between winning and losing, and he was frustrated with himself that he had taken that for granted, even for just a moment. But honestly, what could be so special about this one kid? Jack didn't know and he seriously doubted that Sandy did either. Not that he really wanted to ask Sandy, or talk to him at all for that matter. It would just be making life harder for himself. Sure Sandy was older than him, and slightly more respectable than he was, but he was also tender and kind and- so not going there right now. Right now, Jack had a mission of indefinite terms to complete.

Madelyn Zahn lived at 1401 East Millwood Drive of Hope, Minnesota, population: ten thousand. She was the smartest girl in the first grade, and arguably, the school. She had read the entire Harry Potter series during the summer before kindergarten, and hoped to be the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history. This meant that she was very much invested in the furture. Which meant she was very much invested in science. Which meant she was very much disapproving of anything mythical or magical, which in turn meant that she believed in neither Jack nor Sandy and was not likely to in the near future. Manny had given all this information to Sandy and Jack, but they still had very little to work with. Jack was anxious about being left alone with his guardian counter part for any length of time for fear of being subjected to any kind of scrutiny that might reveal his newfound...feelings. Of course, as they arrived at the moderately large house located conveniently in the only suburb in town, neither Jack nor Sandy truly knew what scrutiny was, but with the path they were on they were gonna find out soon. The front door was a formidably tall, bright red number that seemed to Jack as if it we're the doorway to hell. Little did he know... "Here goes." He looked at Sandy anxiously and pressed the doorbell quickly.


	3. Jack Frost

A/N hey guys, sorry the first chapters weren't all that great, but in my defense they were a little rushed. This one is better, and hopefully they continue to get longer as well. Madds: I hope you like yourself as well as your sister :) this was more difficult than I had anticipated. REVIEW!

_"Here goes." Jack looked at him anxiously and pressed the doorbell quickly._ The sound of the doorbell ringing somehow felt to Sandy as if a death toll was being rung for the both of them. A sudden morbid humor struck him and he chuckled silently to himself, laughing at the notion of the Sandman walking through the gates of hell. Knowing what little he did about this Madelyn, he was probably about to.

Their plan was relatively simple. Madelyn had an older sister named Analise; all the faith that her sister lacked, she made up for and more. 'Lee Lee' spent every Christmas-eve night camped out in the living room, waiting for North to show up. She had officially caught him four times- an unprecedented amount-though Sandy made sure that she always forgot by morning. She prepared weeks in advance for Easter, and each lost tooth was an affair of gargantuan proportion. Her dreams were often Sandy's favorites, and somehow, she already believed in Jack Frost, though she had never before heard his name.

Sandy knew this because she had wrenched the door open a millisecond after Jack had stepped back, and said "Who are you?", to which Jack so eloquently replied, "I'm-wait, you- I'm not- You can see me?" Belief in the magical world was ingrained so deeply into Analise's soul, that it took her but another second before recognition flooded her eyes and she smiled. "Jack Frost, huh. Well, come in. You too, Mr. Sandman." Sandy hadn't even realized that she had noticed him. He had been so focused on the subtle look of gratefulness imprinted upon Jack's face that he momentarily forgot what exactly they were doing in a suburb in Northern Minnesota.

They stepped through the door carefully, not wanting to cause any...problems for their newfound friend. Sandy couldn't help but notice the elegant style of the house's interior: a delicate, winding staircase; top of the line antique furniture; marble everything... Whoever had done the decorating certainly knew what they were doing. Analise took Jack by the hand and led him up the stairs, chattering away while Sandy was left to examine the various and rather...different evidences of the two children. The refrigerator for example, held myriad drawings and paintings and the like, and while the style was similar, it was not difficult to separate Madelyn's art from Analise's. Here was an intricately drawn sodium atom, quite accurately depicted: Maddy. There was a gorgeous abstract of what Sandy identified as Tooth, as though seen through the thick veil of a fading dream: obviously Analise.

That kid was all too good at dodging the effects of his misremember dust, Sandy was suddenly realizing. He made his way to the top of the stairs, lost in thought about how best to render his dust more potently, when he was startled by a flurry of wind and snow blowing straight out of what was presumably Analise's room. He heard high pitched giggling combined with Jack's rumbling chuckle that made his stomach do all kinds of gymnastics that he didn't have time for, and finally, a very pointed huff of irritation that came from the semi-closed door to his right.

"Lee Lee, could you please like, keep it down? I'm trying to do my Algebra homework! Parabolas aren't as easy as you would think!" Sandy smiled. From what he knew about Maddy, she was more irritated that her sister was having fun without her than the math itself.

"Sorry Maddy!" Analise poked her head out of the door way to call back across the hall. "But it's Jack Frost! He's making it SNOW in my ROOM!" She gave another delighted cackle, and pulled Sandy into the room behind her. Unfortunately, he swung into the room just as Jack's brilliant smile faded into a pained grimace.

"Jack Frost? Seriously, Analise? If you're going to pretend, at least find someone WORTH pretending with." Sandy could only watch as the words burrowed into Jack's skin and he sunk to the floor, almost out of breath in anguish.


	4. Walking Encyclopedia

Jack couldn't help it. His poker face was terrible; there was no mistaking for anyone that Maddy's words had hit him hard. Which was an odd feeling because nothing had ever really affected him so. He saw the genuine look of concern in Sandy's eyes and was stunned to see a single crystalline tear slide down his cheek. He let it dribble its way onto the tip of his forefinger and watched as each individual water molecule contracted and froze, until he was left with an icy white diamond that gleamed in the waning light of the afternoon.

As soon as Sandy turned away, he slipped it into the special memory box that Tooth had given him, confident that it wouldn't melt; this tear was important to him somehow. He could feel it, in his belly.

Even Analise, the eleven year old master dreamer could tell that something was very, very wrong at the moment.

"You know, she's just cranky 'cuz Isaac pulled her hair at recess and the whole school heard about it." She whispered meaningfully, as if imparting some great nugget of wisdom to them. Jack and Sandy were attempting to hold their laughter in when something truly terrifying occurred.

"I heard that Analise!" The sounds of paper being strewn asunder coupled with the sudden pounding of three hearts in the other room lent an eerie soundtrack to Madelyn's entrance, which was frightening enough as it were. Yet the person who stood before them all was more puzzling than scary.

Even though she stood glaring at her sister, oblivious to the room's other two occupants, Jack and Sandy could see that she was really no ordinary child. She was tall, taller than most eight year olds, let alone five. Her skin was made of beaten bronze and she exuded an air of extreme regality. Her hair was short, but styled in such a way that made it obvious that was just how she liked it. It accentuated her height and lent her an almost surreal profile. Her rounded face was shaped like a heart which, when combined with her rosebud of a mouth, made her a very pretty child. But for Jack, it was her eyes that set her apart. They were molten chocolate and liquefied amber, rimmed with the thinnest ring of gold, and so perceptive, Jack felt as if she could see his very soul. Of course, she couldn't even see him, but he still felt a tingle run up his spine: he _knew _those eyes. He knew those distinctive gold spots, knew the furrow in her brow, even recognized the way she pursed her lips before she spoke. Inexplicably, improbably, and impossibly, Jack knew her.

This whole moment of realization but a half of a second, and in the other half, he realized this war was going to be far more than just a few short battles.

"Who are you even talking to? I'm the only other person in the house. Dad is outside in the garden, so I cannot possibly fathom who on God's green earth, you are speaking to!" Her voice was melodic, even I this angry state, and had a depth that spoke of many years of experience with life.

_But she's a five year old! _Thought Jack. _A five year old with an attitude, too. _

He had had plenty of experience with children, his center was fun, right? But what Jack saw in that instant was more fun messing with her than any other kid, ever. His smile was so contagious that he even saw Sandy suppressing a grin.

"I'm talking to Jack Frost, remember, the one you're too good for." Was Analise's quick witted reply. It was then that the two Guardian's were able to see what everyone was going gaga over.

"The legend of Jack Frost is over three hundred years old, did you know that? Some say that he is the child of the winter season, but more reliable sources say that he was a regular kid who met an unfortunate end, but the Man in The Moon saw fit to bring him back. Now he brings fun to children and snow days to the less fortunate." She sounded like a miniature encyclopedia, up until the last bit, where she took on a mocking tone and a rather mature sneer. Seeing the shocked look on her sister's face, she added scornfully, "Oh please." And swept out of the room, leaving nothing but awe and opportunities in her wake.


	5. Dream Sand

After Maddy stormed from Analise's room in a dignified huff, there was a rather awkward pause of indeterminate length that Jack finally broke by admitting, "Well, she certainly knows how to make an exit. And an entrance." Sandy responded by nodding his head vigorously in agreement and chuckling silently. Jack felt wave after wave of laughter roll through him, and knew that it was a good sign that they were laughing in the face of such a challenge. As soon as his chest stopped heaving and his cheeks began to recover, Analise asked the question they'd been asking themselves since they'd gotten there: "So, like, why are you guys even here?"

What were they supposed to say? _Oh, you know, because there are some really weird circumstances surrounding your sister and we were sent to make sure that she would believe in us, also I inexplicably know her somehow, but I don't remember why… So yeah, don't worry, there's nothing out of the ordinary going on here. _Yeah right. So Jack said the one thing he was absolutely sure of.

"We're here to watch over her, make sure she's okay. You know, like guardian angels." Well it was half right. And it was true. Jack felt this baffling sense of responsibility for the girl, and he intended to make good on his word. He looked to Sandy who, unfortunately, had a lot to say. Images spun in and out of existence above his head as if at the speed of light, golden edged words clashing with a sea of shining bronze thoughts. Even though Jack couldn't understand a single thing that Sandy was trying to convey, he was so taken with the beauty of the landscape of his friend's mind that he had no choice but to gape as entire worlds were built and destroyed in mere nanoseconds, the only record of them ever having existed being the image superimposed upon Jack's retinas. He watched entire civilizations rise and fall only to be replaced with vast expanses of a landscape so barren it could only be invented, watched lush land turn to golden dust, and finally watched himself being transformed into the man called Jack Frost. Each scene was etched so surely into the every facet of his distant memory that Jack doubted he could forget that moment if he tried.

Suddenly, he was aware of a dainty hand being waved directly in front of his nose, and he found himself face to face with a very concerned Analise. Bewildered, he scanned the room wildly for something familiar, landing on Sandy's equally perturbed yet knowing face. Something in Sandy's eyes told him that he knew just exactly what had happened, and was equally at a loss as for how to deal with the increasingly tense situation. Better to avoid it altogether, right?

"Lee Lee, I'm fine. Just got a little…lost in thought." He heard Sandy let out an amused huff at the allusion. Who said it had to be his own thoughts?

"Okay." She said, easing off of his lap and standing to look directly into his eyes, assumedly trying to determine whether or not he was having a concussive episode. "You know, only Maddy calls me 'Lee Lee'. Everyone else calls just calls me Ana."

"Oh. Would you prefer Ana then?" Jack asked quickly, worried that he had over stepped his boundaries.

"No. I like Lee Lee. Maddy and I spend so much time acting like adults, probably more than the actual adults do, so sometimes it's nice to just get to act like a kid. I think that's why she calls me that, so that she can at least hang on to a small part of her childhood." Jack could only nod as he was once again rendered speechless at the intuitiveness and pure genius of the children in the Zahn household. Analise was right, too. They were expected to be miniature adults, not children, so it was easy to see where the need for that particular crutch might come into play.

"That's why I call here Maddy too, even if it's a little more normal. Because all of her teachers and 'friends' call her Madelyn." Jack wondered at the air quotes around friends. Maybe Maddy didn't have many, or maybe they were just not of the proper caliber, there was only one way to find out. Jack and Sandy must have been on similar wavelengths, because the floating building was most definitely a school. They needed to learn more about her, and what better way to do that than to observe her in her element?

"Is she okay? I mean, she seems kinda…angry."

"Oh, she's fine." Analise scoffed. "She just hates parabolas because she found a more efficient version of the quadratic equation, but her algebra teacher won't let her use it." Quadra-what?

"Well Sandy, looks like we're going back to school." Sandy did not look pleased at that particular prospect; Jack even saw him shudder a little bit. He wondered what had occurred in Sandy's previous life to incur such a harsh reaction...but that was a post-mission question. At the moment, they had more pressing matters at hand. Like the fact that Maddy had evidently finished with Algebra and was now apparently attempting to create nuclear fission in the backyard...


End file.
